Lettering-guide holder



Nov. 20, 1945. G. J. FORSLUND LETTERING GUIDE HOLDER Fil ed April 15, 1944 ug lfl a ov a M Patented Nov. 20, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,389,303 LETTERING-GUIDE HOLDER Gustav J. Forslund, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 15, 1944, Serial N0. 531,200

6 Claims.

Draftsmen commonly use socalled lettering uides for placing letters of the alphabet and numerals on drawings and the like. These devices are fiat ruler-like pieces composed of hard materials of various kinds and having distributed along the same little holes in which the user inserts his pen and, by moving it along the bounding edges of the holes; is able accurately to outline letters and numerals of uniform sizes. While such guides well serve their purpose of'determining the size and shape of a character, they must themselves be properly held in place to bring the proper hole at the point where the letter or other character is to be drawn. The positioning of a guide is simple where characters are to be placed in a row that may permit the guide to be laid against the edge of a T-square or other instrumentality used in drawing straight lines. However, when characters are to be arranged in the arc of a circle or in concentric arcs, there have not heretofore, to my knowledge, been available to draftsmen means quickly and accurately to position and hold the guide.

The present invention has for its object to produce a simple and novel holder for any of the usual lettering guides and like devices, whereby any guide op ning therein may be positioned at any point in an arc of a circle of any desired diameter, within a considerable range, as easily and as accurately as can now be done when characters are placed in straight rows or lines.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of aholder ,embodying the present invention, a fragment of a conventional lettering guide being shown therein; Fig. 2 is an edge view of the holder, up side down as in Fig. 1, and the guide being shown in sec tion; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the holder, with the guide therein: Fig. 4 is an elevational view of, a second anchoring pin and center that may be interchanged with the one appearing in the other figures; and Figs. 5 and 6 are sections takersi, respectively, on lines 5-5 and 6-6 of Figs Referring to the drawing, I is a long, fiat, stiff arm of any suitable material which is preferably but not necessarily transparent. At one end of the arm is a widened part or head 2 having of a guide A to be inserted in the holder.

the central part cut away to create a. large window 3 surrounded by a relatively narrow framelike border. 0n the rear or under side of the head is a depression 4 deeper than the thicknetss T e shoulder 5, extending at right angles to the axis of the arm, along the outer end of the head, is undercut so that a part of it overhangs the guide when the latter is pressed against the shoulder.

I On the underor rear side of the arm or body member of the holder is a T-shaped slide 6 the stem of which lies and fits slidably in a depression 1 in the under face of the arm, while the cross piece of the T engages a widened fiat surface 8 which is in the same plane as thebottoms of the depressions 4 and I. The slide is connected to the arm so as tov be yieldingly pressed against it andbe frictionally held in any position into which it may be moved. The securing means comprises a pin 9 fixed to the slide and extending up through a. 5101; I0 extending throughout the greater part of the length of the arm along the longitudinal center of the latter. A shoulder H on the lower end of the pin prevents it from being pulled up through the slide. Set on top of the pin andsecured thereto, above the arm, is a button H! in the form of an inverted cup the internal diameter of which is substantially greater than the diameter of the pin. In the space within the cavity in the button, and surrounding the pin, is a compression spring l3. The parts are so proportioned that normally the button stands a little apart from the arm, thereby permitting it to be depressed and the slide to drop away a little from the arm.

The cross piece of the slide, on the side toward the arm and along the free long edge, is cut away, as indicated at .l 4, for a depth a little less than the thickness of the guide; thereby providing a shoulder to engage an edge of the .guide and a flange to'overlap the guide. This arrangement makes it possible to move the slide so as to press the guide firmly against the long undercutshoulder or ledge 5 and to holdit there through the clamping action of the spring l3.

. The head 2 bears a mark l5 which may be simply a short line along the longitudinal center of the device at the outer end of the window. This mark serves to locate any guide opening at the exact longitudinal center of the holder; the guid being simply shifted lengthwise in the proper direction to bring the desired opening into registration with the mark l5. The guide, being ffrictionally held, it will remain in any position into which it may be brought and yet be easily mounted on'top of thea'rm of the holder 2 slide it which may be moved along the arm and which may be made of spring material or, for other' reasons, be frictionally held on the arm'although movable lengthwise of the latter when sufficient ying slide I6 is moved along the arm of the holder until mark l9 registers with the graduation corresponding with that radius; the instrument being calibrated to bring zero at about the line of the lower ends of the letters to be made with the guide. The holder is then anchored by means of its pin at the proper center, the guide is shifted in the holder until the opening for the first letter or other character registers with the mails raised character isllthen drfawn. The opening" for the" next character is 1 then'brought into drawing position relative to the holder through shifting the guide and, either before or after thisis done, the holder is swung laterally l5 force is applied to overcome the frictionalresist-" ance. In the arrangement shown ,thismember is a plate of spring metal flanged at opposite ends to produce a channel in which the arm ofthe" holder fits. At least on window I! is cut-in the member Hi to expose graduations l8 located on the upper side .of the arm and distributed along; one of .its long edges; the window having at one; side a mark IQ for ,registrationiwith any one of h r d t n Q." r 1 A sleeve 2dis'screwed into the member I 6 from aboveand has a'smooth portionat the lower end extending into the slot Hi; th diameter ofthe smooth portion being equal to'jthe widthof the slot. The axis of the sleeve lSiSOlQCfitEd'thZill Z passes through the intersection of. the axis of the' holder andfa line extending from the mark' I9 at right angles to the latter axis. A largeipin l2 1 extends down through the sleeve andis provided at its lower end with a point 22 tobe pressed into a drawing board, for examp1e, tqprovi de a fixed center about which the holder may swing. The pin is preferably of' such shape that when it is separated from the holder it may be'fixed firmly to the drawing board andthe sleeve in the. holder be then slipped down over it. With such an jarrangement' it, is unnecessary to t yt'o insert a pin in a centeringhole, already made,'while thehole is obscured theoverlying holder. Therefore, to permit the removal of the ph when desired; and yet prevent it from dropping outjo fits own accord, I: provide means for yieIdingIysecu'ring it to the holder in such aman'r' er that withlthe exertionof a little force it maylbepulledrout. To this end, the sleeve'is enlarged toward the top to make room foran enlargement of the borejj a spring ring 24 in the annulajr chamber thu's formed around the pinjyieldingly holding thejpin in place. Thepin preferabl'y'has ashort section intersected by the planeo'i the ring which .i sof reduced diameter, as indicated at,25. 7 Thus the ring may normally have anjinternalfjdiaineter somewhat less than the external diameter offthe far enough to cause the second character to be properly spaced with the one previously drawn.

.,- Thisprocess is repeated until the legend is com- 'pleted.

in themanner just explained and then'j the' pin carrier i6 is shifted to increase ori decre'ase the radius,flas thecase may be; and theicr nter remaining the same, th formationof the second circle'or arc isbegun'; X 4

I claim: '1. 1. A holder for anelongated letter guide cone taining opening'sj distributedflgngthwisepf the same comprising an" arm, means at 'oneend of the arm to hold the letter guide crosswise of the arm for sliding movements in thefdirectionfof the length of the guide, spin extending through the arm and havin at the lower end a point; to penetrate a drawing board or the like, ,abearing sleeve on the armfor the pin, and means yieldingly to hold the pin in the sleeve andto release the same when a moderate force acts lengthwise on the pin.

21A device such as described in'l c'laim, 1, in which the pin isno jlarger mes 'eter,fat'any m t them: the ntQmaLJd amet r b the fi ima bej's p idown a und the pin after the latter hasbee" drawing board. L A.

A holder or. Q 1 i10na df1 itt ide; on,-

. ments across such a surface. A

main portion of the pin; making it necessary for the pin to expand the ringbefor'e the part below the ring can passup' through it. i 1

A second pimas shown in Fig; 4, having a la'rge head, may be provided. This pin maybe used to form the pin-hole inthe drawing board; the large holder while the slidejfi is dr'awn back, and the slide; is then pushed firmly against thenear edge offthe guide to clamp lit yieldingly in place. Knowing the radius of the arc in which letters or other characters are to be p1aea,eiepm car- 7 yond the outer end Of 5 id 0p 4;. A holder for an elongateddetter guide containing openings distributedlengthwise of the same comprising an arm, meansl'at o e, end of the arm to grip the lettering guide and yieldingly hold it against lengthwise movement crosswise-of the aids or the arm with its upper and lower tapes exposed in the regioniintersected; by said axis over an area larger, than the largest opening'in the guide, and means on the arm adjustable along said axis to anchor the'arjm to' underlying sup port for angular movements 'acrossgsuchfsupport.

i e ne: char ct d scri d m r w ing a flat ,arm'widenedatoneend: dglh'aving a large central opening in thewid ened part; a long undercut shoulder, higher than the thickness of a letter gilide to beheld, extending cros'swise' of the arm on the underside of the latterandlbeunderside of the arm Firg a le te 'characters in yieldingly against said shoulder and against the under face of the arm; and means to anchor the arm for swinging movements over the face of a drawing board or the like.

'6. A device of the character described comprising a fiat arm widened at one end and having a large central opening in the widened part; a long undercut shoulder, higher than the thickness of a letter guide to be held, extending crosswise of the arm on the under side of the arm and beyond the outer end of said opening; a T-shaped slide on the under side of the arm having the long free edge of its cross piece parallel with said shoulder and shaped to engage both an edge and a marginal portion of the under face of a letter guide underlying said opening and bearing against said shoulder and against the under surface of said widened part of the arm; a fastening between the slide and the arm that permits movements of the slide lengthwise of the arm and movements downwardly from the arm while yieldingly holding the slide against the arm in any position which the slide may occupy lengthwise of the arm; and means to connect the arm to a drawing board for swinging movements across thesame.

GUSTAV J. FORSLUND. 

